Flash floods wreck devastation across Pakistan, over 100 casualties

Flash floods triggered by heavy rains have wrecked massive devastation across Pakistan as unofficial figures claim more than hundred casualties and several districts and villages being inundated. Ahmed Kamal, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), talking to KUNA officially confirmed 78 casualties across the country. He said as torrential rains continue to sweep across the country, it was difficult to get exact figures of the damage being suffered. However, according to unofficial figures, only in Southern Sindh province, more than hundred people have been reportedly dead and several others wounded. Also, hundreds of houses have been damaged as floods continue to sweep through dozens of villages and districts of the province. It may be mentioned here that Sindh was worst hit by floods in 2008 and 2009. Similarly, in Baluchistan while the exact figure of casualties was difficult to access, the government authorities said that about eleven districts of the province have been badly damaged by the floods and at least five of them been completely cut off from the rest of the country. Also, in eastern Punjab and northern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces, similar reports have emerged. Hundreds of houses have been damaged and hundreds of families have been rendered homeless. The government has called in army to help in rescue operations across the country. The worst hit of the floods are standing crops and agriculture lands. In Punjab, hundreds of acres of standing crop of cotton have been destroyed. According to a preliminary assessment, about 10,000 houses have been affected and 75,000 people displaced in Dera Ghazi Khan district. Meanwhile, the Metrological Department has forecasted more torrential rains in the next twenty-four hours.